1950 in sports

1950 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.

American football

• NFL Championship – Cleveland Browns win 30–28 over the Los Angeles Rams
• Oklahoma Sooners – college football champions.
• Coaches Poll established to rank top 20 American college football teams

Association football

FIFA World Cup

• 1950 World Cup held in Scotland. Amarica are the winners after beating Brazil in the final group decider.
• defeats England 1-0 in one of the great upsets in sports history

England

• First Division – Portsmouth win the 1949–50 title.
• FA Cup – Arsenal beat Liverpool 2–0.

Athletics

The 4th European Championships in Athletics were held from 23 August to 27 August at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels.

Australian rules football

• Victorian Football League
  • Essendon wins the 54th VFL Premiership (Essendon 13.14 (92) d North Melbourne 7.12 (54))
  • Brownlow Medal awarded to Allan Ruthven (Fitzroy)

Baseball

• The Japanese Baseball League is reorganized, creating the modern Nippon Professional Baseball.
• World Series – The New York Yankees sweep the Philadelphia Phillies four games to none.
• Japan Series – In the inaugural Japan Series, the Mainichi Orions defeat the Shochiku Robins 4 games to 2.

Boxing

• January – Joey Maxim wins the light-heavyweight world title, stopping champion Freddie Mills in 10 rounds.
• September 27 – Ezzard Charles retains his World Heavyweight Championship with a 15 round unanimous decision over Joe Louis in New York City.

Canadian football

• Grey Cup – Toronto Argonauts win 13–0 over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Cycling

• Giro d'Italia – Hugo Koblet of Switzerland
• Tour de France – Ferdinand Kubler of Switzerland
• Vuelta a España – Emilio Rodriguez of Spain
• World Cycling Championship – Briek Schotte of Belgium

Figure skating

• World Figure Skating Championships –
  • Men's champion: Dick Button, United States
  • Ladies' champion: Aja Zanova, Czechoslovakia
  • Pairs skating champions: Karol Kennedy & Michael Kennedy, United States

Golf

Men's professional

• Masters Tournament – Jimmy Demaret
• U.S. Open – Ben Hogan
• PGA Championship – Chandler Harper
• British Open – Bobby Locke
• PGA Tour money leader – Sam Snead – $35,759

Men's amateur

• British Amateur – Frank Stranahan
• U.S. Amateur – Sam Urzetta

Women's professional

• Thirteen women golfers found the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA).
• Women's Western Open – Babe Zaharias
• U.S. Women's Open – Babe Zaharias
• Titleholders Championship – Babe Zaharias
• Babe Zaharias named Woman Athlete of the Half–Century by the Associated Press.
• LPGA Tour money leader – Babe Zaharias – $14,800

Harness racing

• Little Brown Jug for pacers – Dudley Hanover
• Hambletonian for trotters – Lusty Song
• Australian Inter Dominion Harness Racing Championship for pacers – Captain Sandy

Horse racing

• The United States National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame is founded in Saratoga Springs, New York.

Steeplechases

• Cheltenham Gold Cup – Cottage Rake for the third successive year
• Grand National – Freebooter

Flat races

• Australia – Melbourne Cup won by Comic Court
• Canada – Queen's Plate won by McGill
• France – Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe won by Tantieme
• Ireland – Irish Derby won by Dark Warrior
• English Triple Crown Races:
  1. 2,000 Guineas Stakes – Palestine
  2. Epsom Derby – Galcador
  3. St. Leger Stakes – Scratch
• United States Triple Crown Races:
  1. Kentucky Derby – Middleground
  2. Preakness Stakes – Hill Prince
  3. Belmont Stakes – Middleground

Ice hockey

• Art Ross Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading scorer during the regular season: Ted Lindsay, Detroit Red Wings
• Hart Memorial Trophy – for the NHL's Most Valuable Player: Charlie Rayner, New York Rangers
• Stanley Cup – Detroit Red Wings win 4 games to 3 over the New York Rangers
• World Hockey Championship
  • Men's champion: Canada's Edmonton Mercurys
• NCAA Men's Ice Hockey Championship – Colorado College Tigers defeat Boston University Terriers 13–4 in Colorado Springs, CO

Motor racing

• 30 May – Johnnie Parsons wins the 34th running of the Indianapolis 500 in the Wynn's Friction Special Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
• NASCAR Championship – Bill Rexford
• AAA Racing –
  • Henry Banks won the series championship
• Formula One – The first World Drivers' Championship under FIA Formula A (Formula One) open-wheel racing rules is contested.
  • 13 May—the British Grand Prix at Silverstone is the first event of the new World Drivers' Championship. It is won by Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo 158 Alfetta. Farina would go on to become the first FIA World Champion.

• Rally racing –
  • M. Becquart/H. Secret won the Monte Carlo Rally driving a Hotchkiss
• Drag racing – the first commercial drag strip, the Santa Ana Drags, begins at Orange County Airport (now John Wayne Airport) in Santa Ana, in Southern California. Admission is 50 cents; or 75 cents if the ticket holder wants to watch the mechanics work. (This special access becomes known as a pit pass.)

Nordic skiing

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships

• 13th FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1950 are held in the United States at Lake Placid (ski jumping) and Rumford, Maine (cross-country skiing). These are the first world championships since 1939.

Rowing

The Boat Race

• 1 April — Cambridge wins the 96th Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race

Rugby league

Australia

• 1950 NSWRFL season

England

• 1949–50 Northern Rugby Football League season/1950–51 Northern Rugby Football League season

Rugby union

Five Nations Championship

• 56th Five Nations Championship series is won by Wales who complete the Grand Slam

Snooker

• World Snooker Championship – Walter Donaldson beats Fred Davis 51–46.

Speed skating

Speed Skating World Championships

• Men's All-round Champion – Hjalmar Andersen (Norway)
• Women's All-round Champion – Maria Isakova (USSR)

Tennis

Australia

• Australian Men's Singles Championship – Frank Sedgman (Australia) defeats Ken McGregor (Australia) 6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–1
• Australian Women's Singles Championship – Louise Brough (USA) defeats Doris Hart (USA) 6–4, 3–6, 6–4

England

• Wimbledon Men's Singles Championship – Budge Patty (USA) defeats Frank Sedgman (Australia) 6–1, 8–10, 6–2, 6–3
• Wimbledon Women's Singles Championship – Louise Brough Clapp (USA) defeats Margaret Osborne duPont (USA) 6–1, 3–6, 6–1

France

• French Men's Singles Championship – Budge Patty
• French Women's Singles Championship – Doris Hart

USA

• American Men's Singles Championship – Arthur Larsen
• American Women's Singles Championship – Margaret Osborne duPont

Davis Cup

• 1950 Davis Cup –  Australia 4–1  United States at West Side Tennis Club (grass) New York City, United States

Multi-sport events

• British Empire Games held in Auckland

References